Pruning implement



March 14, 193-9. w. R. DENTON 2,150,268

PRUNING IMPLEMENT Filed Oct. 16, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Ai tomey March 14, 1939.

W. R. DENTON PRUNING IMPLEMENT 3 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed Og. 16, 19:57

Inventor ig? .I l

March 14, 1939. w. R, DENTON PRUNING IMPLEMENT Filed Oct. 16,7193? 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor 71 .2 firs/77?) P 0 By A dorneys Patented Mar. 14, 1939 I l UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE PRU'NING IIWPLEMENT Walter R. Benton, Baldwin, N. Y., assignor of oNne-half to Walter Denton, Jr., Baldwin,

Application October 16, 1937, Serial No. 169,488

4 Claims. (Cl. 30-166) The invention herein illustrated and specificale ach pole or d is denoted y the numeral ly described and claimed relates to what'may be 3 d s s o y pp p dimension a d broadly referred to as a pruning implement, and length. In fact, this should be of such' a length has specific reference to a novel and improved W pt it for convenient use Wit out remanually controlled reciprocatory saw. quiring e use o C b e ee or mount a 5 Asimplied by the preceding introductory stateladder as customarily ne wh n s n ment, I am sumcientl conversant with the gencalled pr nin knives and eq iva cutting eral status of th prior field of invention t apvices of the remote controlled type. Reference preciate that it is not new to provide a reciprobeing ad to Figure 20 it l e Observed t at eating saw on a reach pole or rod, It is proper, the outer or upper end of the IOd is reinforced it;

therefore, to direct the attention of the reader y t protecting metal d s b d fits in to the primary structural newness with which a pe er Ov r the rod to render it we are hereinafter concerned. That is to say, I Strong and Sturdy t this needed point have provided an improved s nd actuating shaped brackets are arched over and fastened to means therefor, although the chief novelty is the rod at longitudinally spaced p These is directed to the association with the saw of rebrackets, denoted y the reference numerals mote controlled means for grappling and mainhave their b-ight 0r connective portions 6 s0 artaining the branch in effective cutting relationranged as to function as guides fo the p ship with th t th f th saw, catory actuating arm 1 carrying the straight Under the circumstances, it will therefore be ype saw 8. The w is appropr ly f en apparent that one phase of the improvement has w requisite g d ty to the part 7 as indicated to do with the adoption and use of a structurally at 9 in Figure s a ws e w to be re refined longitudinally reciprocating saw, wheremoved for sharpening ep ace e as as the companion phase of the invention conquired. As shown in Figures 1b and 2b the recerns itself with a structurally new and inmote control operating rod IE3 is threaded at H geniously located limb or branch holding unit, to a up g l2 Which cflllpling is p a y which part cooperates to permit the user, while adjoined at I3 to the actuatin e The dstanding on the ground, to effectively and cleanjustment in part is maintained by a lock nut l4. ly sever fruit tree limbs. The hand controlled operating unit or lever Other and more specific features and advanmeans for the rod 10 is shown in Figure 1a and tages will become evident from the description 1 unitarily denoted by the numeral I5. It comand drawings. prises a swingable yoke, that is a main yoke l6 7 In the drawings, wherein I utilize like reference carrying an appropriate hand grip ll. Then numerals to designate like parts throughout the there is an auxiliary yoke at l8 and this funcviews:-- tions as a bell-crank and joined to the main Figure 1a is a top plan view of what may be yoke by a shank portion l9. These parts may be called the lower end portion of the reach pole, of any appropriate construction to obtain the detailing in particular the operating means for approximate proportions shown in Figure 1a. the push-pull saw. The downturned ends of the yoke l8 as indicated Figure 1 is a p plan View of the intermeat 20 normally straddle the pole 3. At this point 40 diate portion of the structure complemental to it will be observed that a U-shaped adapter ure 1a. bracket or fixture 22 embraces the rod 3, being u e 0 i ew se a op P View of the secured thereto rigidly by suitable fastenings 22a. ou or sc d upper end of the structure de- The parallel arm portions of this bracket project tailing the saw and closely allied parts or mechbelow said pole or rod 3 to accommodate a trans- 45 anism. verse pivot pin 2|. This arrangement provides a Figure 2a is a side elevation, as is obvious, of suitable foundation for hingedly connecting the the structure seen in Figure 101.. free ends of the aforementioned downturned por- Figure 2b is a side elevation of the assemblage tions 26 thereto. It follows therefor, that the of parts depicted in top plan in Figure 1b. so-called main and auxiliary yokes function in 50 Figure 2c is a side elevation of the saw and providing the aforementioned lever unit, the branch engaging means seen in top plan in Figauxiliary yoke serving as an operating crank for um 10. the motion transmitting rod l0. Thus, the rod Referring now to the drawings by distinguish- ID has pivotal operating connection at one end ing reference numerals, it will be observed that as at I3 with the complemental actuating rod 1,

while at its opposite end it is pivotally connected as at 23 with said bell-crank. It is evident therefore, that by catching hold of the hand grip l6 and rocking the lever unit toward and from the pole 3 it travels back and forth through an arcuate path and imparts the desired reciprocatory motion to the interconnected or complemental rods 7 and II]. The dotted line representation of lever H3 shows it in an intermediate position during the operation of the device while the dotted line representation of the down turned portions 28 parallel with the pole 3 and beneath said pole indicates the position reached by these portions at the end of the maximum stroke.

Attention now comes to Figure 2c showing a pivoted rockable cross-head 24. To the upper arm of this a coiled spring 25 is attached and said spring is secured at its opposite end to an anchoring bracket 26 adjustably mounted on the pole and maintained in place by a thumb nut 21 (see Figure 2b). A release cord or rope 28 connects with the lower end of the cross-head and passes through a guide eye 29 and is fixedly anchored on the pole at the point 30. These parts serve collectively as the retaining and release means for the limb or branch holding means or unit 3!.

The part 3! preferably comprises a segmental jaw or grip 32 having gripping teeth 33. The arm or shank 34 afiords the operating connection with the rocker or cross-head means 24. At the point 355 is an extension or tang, this being at the outer end of the toothed jaw and being disposed in normal converging relationship with respect to the teeth of the saw. It cooperates with the saw in providing a pilot element to spread the jaws to open position and to facilitate feeding or directing the device on the limb to obtain the desired friction grip or hold. Normally the spring 25 functions to maintain the unit 3! in yieldable engagement with the under side of the limb (not shown). On the other hand, the pull cord or rope 28 serves to release the jaws, as is evident.

Briefly, it will be observed therefore, that the structure as a Whole is characterized by the reach pole 3 forming the principal handling means, this having mounted thereon for reciprocation the toothed saw 8. A sectional self adaptable operating connection provides the motion transmitting means between the saw and the hand actuated frame or lever unit l5. Added to this is a single jaw unit located in parallelism to the saw and movable from and toward the saw teeth. This is novel in that it includes the jaw opening means the yieldable retention device, and the release cord which is ever so handy if and when the saw gets caught or hung.

The operation is equally simple. All that is necessary is to place the saw blade on top of the limb. Then the whole structure is bodily shoved in a direction toward the limb and the cam action of the limb encounters the tank or cam finger 35 opening for spreading the jaw 3|, whereby to allow thejaw to readily embrace the underside of the same limb. If the saw is found to be in an improper position the jaw can be readily released by the release cord as evident. When once the device is set the saw is reciprocated back and forth while holding the pole in an evident manner.

This type of saw permits the cutting of limbs up to four inches in diameter without the necessity of climbing the tree. Manifestly, the chief objective is the adoption and use of the jaw retention or limb holding means which serves to maintain pressure on the underside of the lumb, thus keeping the saw blade against the limb and materially aiding the cutting action of the saw. The pressure supplied by the spring tensioned jaw and the leverage of the operating handle make it an easy operating saw especially ideal for pruning work.

It is thought that the description taken in connection with the drawings will enable a clear understanding of the invention to be had. Therefore, a more lengthy description is thought unnecessary.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that. minor changes coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to if desired.

I claim:

1. A pruning implement of the class described comprising a pole, a reciprocatory saw mounted for operation on said pole and having remote control means, an arcuate limb-engaging unit provided with an arm at one end and a cam finger at the opposite end, a cross-head on said pole, said'operating arm being adjoined to said cross-head, a spring attached to one end of the cross-head and anchored to the pole, and a release cord attached to the opposite end of the cross-head and fastened on the pole.

2. A pruning implement of the class described comprising a longitudinally elongated reach pole, longitudinally spaced guides fixedly mounted on said pole, a saw actuating rod slidable in said guides and in alignment with said pole, a saw connected to the outer end of said actuating rod, a coupling pivotally attached to the inner end of said actuating rod, an operating 'rod in longitudinal alignment with the pole as well as said actuating rod, the outer end of said operating rod being adjustably connected with said coupling,

a U-shaped bracket embracing and fixed to said reach pole, a yoke unit operatively connected with said bracket, the inner end of said operating rod being pivotally and detachably connected with said yoke unit, said yoke'unit including" a hand grip, and limb engaging means operatively mounted on the outer end of said reach pole and arranged in coacting relationship withrespect to said saw.

3. In a pruning'implement of the class de-' scribed, a longitudinally elongated reach pole, a manually controlled saw disposed at the outer end of said pole, remote control operating means for the saw slidably mounted on the pole, a

limb-engaging jaw unit comprising an arcuate' respect to the longitudinal dimension of the saw, an operating arm attached to the inner end of said jaw, a cross-head pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the outer end of said reach .60 rected cam finger disposed at acute angles with pole, said arm being operatively adjoined to the intermediate portion of said cross-head, a coiled spring attached to one end of the cross-head and adjustably anchored on the intermediate portion of the reach pole, and a release cord attached to the opposite end of the cross-head and fastened on the pole.

4. A pruning implement of the class described comprising a longitudinally elongated reach pole, longitudinally spaced guides fixedly mounted on said pole, a saw actuating rod slidable in said guides and arranged in alignment with said reach pole, a saw connected to the outer end of said actuating rod, a coupling pivotally connected with the inner end of said actuating rod, a companion operating rod in longitudinal alignment with said pole as Well as said actuating rod, the outer end of said operating rod being adjustably adjoined to said coupling, an adapter bracket embracing and fastened to said reach pole at a predetermined point, a hand controlled lever unit including bell-crank means, said bell-crank means embracing the rod and bracket and being pivotally attached to said bracket, the inner end of said operating rod being pivotally attached to said bell-crank means, said lever unit including a hand grip, and limb engaging means operatively mounted on the outer end of the reach pole and disposed in coacting relationship with respect to the saw. 

